A desk used by John Lennon has gone on display after it was discovered in the attic of a school where teachers did not want to remember him because he was a "nuisance".
The item, from Quarry Bank School in Liverpool, features in a display at the Liverpool Beatles Museum along with other items from the late Beatle's schooldays, including the enrolment ledger that recorded Lennon's details after he passed his 11-Plus exam and which was signed by his aunt Mimi Smith.
What a fantastic reveal this morning! 🌟
— Liverpool Beatles Museum (@beatlesmuseum_) September 18, 2025
New additions include John Lennon's Quarry Bank school desk, his poems and drawing from the school magazine and his (and Mimi's!) names in the school register📖
Stay tuned for more photos or visit us on Mathew Street to see for yourself! pic.twitter.com/f9sqkwSxar
Design and Technology teacher Tom Barry, who works at what is now The Calderstones School in Liverpool, said there had long been rumours the Imagine singer's old desk was still in the building.
He said: "The story is that the headmaster, Bill Pobjoy, when John had made some sort of fame with The Beatles, we think in about 1963 or 1964, he asked the caretaker, known as Yozzer, to unscrew John's old school desk from the History room and put it into storage.
"That's been locked away for years and they lost the key, so we had to beat the door down to get to it.
"The rumour had circulated through the school and we weren't quite sure if it was actually the desk belonging to John, but we've now found a document from the headmaster's PA, which notes down the task for the caretaker, so we have written proof."
Mr Barry said there were rumours John Lennon had carved his name into the wood, but they had not been able to find anything.
He added: "It's one of those old-fashioned lift-up desks, but it's locked and we don't want to break it open so it could be there is something inside."
A closer look at some of the items in our new John Lennon Quarry Bank display! 👀
— Liverpool Beatles Museum (@beatlesmuseum_) September 18, 2025
Can you spot John's name in the register? pic.twitter.com/eXZnIUxhug
The school is starting to offer tours of their site for Beatles fans, where they will be able to see spots including the stage where John Lennon performed for the school dance with his first band, The Quarrymen, which he originally formed with schoolfriends before Paul McCartney and George Harrison joined.
The tours will also show the wall that originally separated John Lennon and his classmates from the neighbouring girls' school, which the young musician was known for scaling.
But, Mr Barry said that for years teachers did not want to acknowledge their link to pop history.
He said: "When John left, he was that much of a nuisance and a bully and that much of a poor student, the school staff didn't want to acknowledge that he ever went to the school and removed any trace of him.
"He was never spoken about; he was never acknowledged through Beatlemania.
"Apparently, fans would come to the school gates and just be sent away because the school didn't want any connection to him.
"They didn't want to idolise him and for students to think you can prat about and be a bit of a bully and still be successful."
Mr Barry said pupils now were well aware they were walking the same corridors as the star.
He said: "At the start of the year, we always have new students coming in who are so happy to tell us, 'This is where John Lennon went to school', and we say, 'We know, we work here!'"
The desk and ledger, along with old school signs and uniforms from the time John Lennon attended, are the latest items to go on display at the Liverpool Beatles Museum on Mathew Street in the city.
Source: Press Association
